New TV for the Bedroom & A Few Other Updates

We just got a new and bigger TV for the bedroom.  I am going on record to say I love it!  I know, i know…they say it can kill the romance, you shouldn’t watch TV right before bed, blah, blah, blah.  Well, I have always enjoyed winding down with a TV show before bed.

Since having children we have cut back significantly on TV and practice a quiet house at bedtime until after the boys are fully asleep.  That pretty much leaves time for one show per night.  Fine by me since I spend my evenings writing blog posts and catching up on email.  I think the biggest reason I love watching a TV show before bed is I can finally shut my mind off.  I put away all electronic devices and just watch (usually a comedy or reality TV show…anything to make me laugh).

Anyways, back to the TV in our bedroom.  The old TV was small and a bit unreliable.  When I say a bit, I mean getting up every 5 minutes to jiggle the cable in the back to get the picture back on the screen.  We found a new home for the old TV (more on that soon) and simultaneously found an excuse to buy a new TV.  Here is the closest thing I have to a before picture:

We have a small white desk from West Elm that hs been serving as our TV stand.  It sits next to the tall chest of drawers.  Notice the small white TV on the far left.  I think it was only 20″.  It sat off center on the desk to accommodate the DVR.

We found our new TV at Target.  It is a 32″ Samsung LED.  With an electronics sale and our Target Red Card, we brought him home for about $315.  My husband wanted something larger, but with the desk only 34″ wide, we both agreed the 32″ was the best bet for the space and our money.  Here is the new TV:

I am shocked at how much I like the black TV.  I have long been an advocate of the white TV, but I have to admit the big black box actually balances the space better.  It can hold it’s own next to that big dresser!  Now I just need to hide the tangled mess of cords below the desk and add something decorative above the TV.  I want to add some frames or other decor that will tie into what is going on above the dresser and make the whole space like a gallery wall.

Meanwhile, I made a few tweaks to the dresser decor to start.  When I added the convex mirror in the nursery, I displaced a framed print of my youngest’s portraits throughout his first year of life.  I temporarily set it up on the dresser and then decided I kind of like it there.  To make it work, I turned the framed placemat art landscape and layered the framed print in front.  I removed the paper cover books and just let the geese sculptures stand on their own.  I am loving the new layered look!

Another new addition to the TV area is storage on the pullout.  The desk has a keyboard tray that pulls out about halfway.  It used to have a mess of consoles, controllers, and laptops shoved in it.  I found two purple faux crocodile paper trays at Target on clearance for $11.48 each.

The paper trays fit the space perfectly and help conceal some of the mess (still need to work on cable management below the desk).  I left the Wii console off to the side, but put all the controllers in one of the trays.  In the other tray, I pulled my laptop charging cord through the back handle.  I can charge and stow my MacBook Air here at night.  The paper tray helps conceal the glowing “I am charging” light, which used to drive me nuts when I charged my laptop on my nightstand.

Well, I think this post sums up the fact that my husband and I are hooked on technology.  On occasion I think I want to remove everything electronic from our bedroom and have an oasis from the connected life.  But it is our reality.  We both like to have our phones, laptops, and TV convenient.  My phone doubles as my alarm clock.  Sometimes I also wake in the morning and use my laptop while the kids are snuggled up in bed watching cartoons.  I know being this plugged in in the bedroom is not for everyone, but we have found the perfect balance for us.  Might I add, the work laptops almost never come in the bedroom…I think that is an important distinction.